By Jennifer Hill

LONDON (Reuters) - An upmarket area of London has some of the most expensive insurance premiums in the country, research shows.

Islington in north London, former home of Tony Blair, is the most expensive borough in which to buy insurance for cars and homes, with an average premium of 745 pounds, according to research by actuarial consultancy EMB.

It studied the average annual combination of motor, buildings and contents premiums for the 10 "worst" and "best" places to live in the UK from an insurance point of view.

Islington has wealthy enclaves like Highbury and Canonbury, but also contains some of the most deprived areas in Britain. It was recently voted the seventh worst place to live according to television show "Location, Location, Location".

High levels of violence and drug-related crime in the borough were found to have a significant effect on insurance premiums.

Car theft in Islington is 2-1/2 times and burglary three-times the national average.

"Insurance premiums are typically higher in cities than rural areas because of the combination of high crime and unemployment rates; about half of a contents premium will be based on the likelihood of theft," said Karl Murphy, a partner at EMB.

"Quite simply, Islington has a high density of young, unemployed males and it is this section of the population that is most likely to commit crimes against property and motors.